Renters in Spain face major housing changes but the battle is not over yet UPDATED

Renters across Spain, including thousands of British and other foreign residents, could be in line for greater protection and longer rental contracts after the Government approved its latest housing package.

However, Tuesday’s Council of Ministers decision is not the final stage just yet.

Two separate “real decreto-ley” measures (bills) have been approved following a last-minute negotiation between the PSOE and Sumar parties. The Government now needs to take them through the lower house, Congress, where their future will be decided.

What could change for renters in Spain?

The package contains several measures that could affect people renting their main home, including:

• Up to two extra years on some rental contracts due to expire before December 31, 2028, subject to the conditions contained in the legislation.
• Greater protection against eviction for vulnerable households without alternative accommodation, with protection reported to extend to 2030 in the circumstances covered by the decree.
• New rules for room rentals, bringing this increasingly common form of accommodation into the housing measures.
• Tighter controls on temporary rentals, aimed at preventing seasonal contracts being used to avoid ordinary rental protections.
• Measures affecting large property investors, including restrictions intended to prevent certain speculative purchases.
• Tax measures designed to encourage more affordable rental housing.

This is no longer simply a package of measures promised by the Government. The first decree has now been published in the BOE, meaning several of the measures reported above have moved into law, although the decree still needs to be convalidated by Congress.

First housing decree now published

Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 was published in the Boletin Oficial del Estado on Wednesday, September 30.

The legislation includes the extension of protection against certain evictions until December 31, 2030, as well as measures covering rental contracts, temporary accommodation and room rentals.

It also provides for extraordinary extensions of up to two years for certain existing rental contracts due to expire before December 31, 2028, subject to the conditions set out in the act of law. The measure is intended to give qualifying tenants more time in their homes rather than forcing them to leave when their current contract ends.

Other provisions deal with limits on rent increases, temporary and room rentals and restrictions affecting certain property purchases by large investors. The precise wording of the BOE is now more important than the Government’s original announcement because it sets out the conditions and exceptions applying to each measure.

But there is another act still to come

This is where the situation becomes more complicated for renters and landlords.

The Government approved a second real decreto-ley on Tuesday covering the proposed automatic renewal of rental contracts, but that legislation was not published in the BOE alongside the first decree. Its publication has been delayed until Thursday, October 1.

The second measure is the one proposing much longer protection for tenants when their rental contracts reach the end of their normal term. Reports on the agreed proposal describe automatic extensions of “up to five years” for contracts involving private landlords and seven years where the landlord is a legal entity (company), subject to specific exceptions.

Landlords would also generally have to give six months’ notice if they wanted to prevent the extension, with compensation provisions applying in certain circumstances. However, the exact legal wording will not be clear until the second decree is officially published.

Congress still has the last word

Neither decree can simply be treated as permanently settled legislation yet. The Government is taking both measures to Congress for a convalidation vote on Friday, October 2. The parliamentary process could therefore still change the legal position, particularly for the second decree on rental renewals. That makes the next few days particularly important for anyone renting property in Spain.

For British and other foreign residents, the immediate point is that part of the housing package is now officially in the BOE and therefore law, while the potentially more far-reaching rules on automatic rental renewal are still waiting to be published and voted on.

What renters in Spain should watch now

• September 30: The first housing decree has been published in the BOE.
• October 1: The second decree on automatic rental renewal is expected to be published.
• October 2: Congress is due to vote on convalidation of the Government’s two housing decrees.
• Existing contracts: Check whether your rental qualifies for the new two-year extraordinary extension.
• Eviction protection: The BOE text sets out the circumstances in which the extended protection applies.
• Temporary and room rentals: New rules could change how these arrangements operate.
• Automatic renewal: The full details should become clearer once the second decree reaches the BOE.

The story that began with the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal has therefore moved rapidly from street protests and political negotiations into formal legislation.

But for renters and landlords, Friday’s parliamentary vote could be the next major turning point.